Starting Over
by ShadowRaven651
Summary: The wizarding war is over, but not much has changed. Harry chooses to start over someplace new. Mostly Cannon compliant up to near the end of book 7. Disregard Epilogue completely. Rated T to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

The Harry Potter world and characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from playing in her world. Original characters are mine.

Chapter 1 - Closure

I pulled the collar of my greatcoat up around my neck as I emerged from the cab in front of 4 Privet Drive. This would be the last time I set foot in this miserable place. The cabbie grunted his thanks at the generous tip and drove off, a wave of water soaking my new jeans and trainers. My knee ached from the cold, a leftover reminder of the Battle of Hogwarts.

'Less than half an hour,' I told myself. Surely I could manage that long. It wasn't like they would miss me, nor I them. Wiping my feet carefully on the doormat, I knocked politely on the door. Aunt Petunia answered the door, a fact for which I was grateful. I had no interest in seeing Uncle Vernon again, the reason why I had chosen mid-day to retrieve what few belongings I had.

"Oh, It's you," she sneered at me. She shouldn't have been surprised. I did send a letter a week ago telling her I would be coming.

"Yes, It's me. I sent you the letter," I tried to keep my tone polite and indifferent. I was an adult now, not a petulant child. She just nodded, stepping aside.

I entered and made my way up to my room. There really wasn't much to keep. The owl stand could go; it wasn't like Hedwig would ever use it again. A twinge of sadness had me wincing as I remembered my familiar's last moments. She'd deliberately taken a killing curse for me. Another death that could be laid at Tom's door. I left all of Dudley's old hand-me-down clothing at the foot of the bed. Aunt Petunia could do whatever she liked with it; I didn't really care. I stashed six years worth of letters and birthday cards into my rucksack and scanned the room one last time. Nope, nothing else of value. I trudged downstairs, glancing at the cupboard that used to be my bedroom as I made my way into the kitchen.

Aunt Petunia was standing by the kitchen table with a cup of tea. I reached into my pocket and withdrew a check for £17,000, placing it on the table in front of her. "Here's for my room and board for the last seventeen years," I didn't even attempt to keep the sneer out of my voice this time.

I was halfway to the front door when she called me back. I hesitated a moment, considering if I should ignore her, finally I sighed and returned to the kitchen.

"I know I should have done better by you," she began. "I let my hatred and jealousy and Vernon's intolerance overrule my sense of duty and responsibility. I know it may be too late, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry." She paused and took a deep breath. "And thank you. Thank you for saving my son, even though you had no real reason to. I-" she took a sip of coffee, more emotional than I'd seen her before. "I got together all of Lily's stuff. Things you should have been given years ago. It's yours if you want it." She pointed at an old school trunk tucked under the edge of the table.

I stooped and hefted the trunk. I would shrink it down once I was away from this place. My eyes met her brown ones. "I don't know if I can ever forgive the years of abuse and neglect, but for what it's worth, I hope the rest of your life is happy." I'd decided that holding a grudge was too tiring. Let her live with her guilt and regret. She'd answer to mum in the afterlife. With one last glance around the kitchen I was so familiar with, I left Privet Drive for the last time. I had one last stop to make and then I was free. Free to leave the horror that was my life behind.

HPHPHP

My trip the the Burrow was torture. The place that had once been the closest place to home other than Hogwarts was now a place of painful memories and grief. Mrs. Weasley sat at the table, staring hopelessly into a cold cup of tea. Even now, six weeks after the battle Fleur was still caring for the Weasley household. She bustled about the kitchen, tidying up, barely glancing at me as I entered.

"How are they doing?" I whispered, glancing as Molly.

Fleur glanced at me, grabbing my arm gently and leading me outside. "Not good," she whispered. "Arthur's thrown himself into work as a way of coping. We barely see him. Molly stares into that cup of tea all day. She's refusing to eat. Percy's the only one that's been able to get her to come out of it, but he's busy rebuilding the ministry and rarely has time." She sighed. "My Bill is taking it best I think. He's helping Gringotts and the ministry with repairs. Charlie had to return to Romania. He hasn't spoken a word since he found Ginny. The healers say she may be catatonic for the rest of her life. They don't know how long Carrow had her in his office before Charlie found her; they've put her in with the Longbottoms. Ron's still trying to cope with losing his leg. He is missing Fred too I think. He and George have been hitting the firewhisky pretty hard these last weeks. He only comes out of his room to eat and use the loo," she sighed, rubbing her back. "They've lost a lot."

I nodded and handed her a bag of Galleons. "I know they won't take this from me, but take care of them will you? They are still the closest thing to family I have, even if I'm not welcome anymore." I hugged her quickly and apparated away before she could beg me to stay. Guilt flashed through me. Intellectually I knew I wasn't to blame for all of the tragedy that had befallen wizarding Britain, but true to form they needed a scapegoat and I was done playing the role. I'd left a note for Hermione in her mailbox. She'd left without a word the day after the battle to find her parents, I hadn't heard from her since.


	2. Chapter 2

The Harry Potter world and characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from playing in her world. Original characters are mine.

Chapter 2 – New Beginnings

The plane ride was uneventful. Andromeda spent most of the flight asleep on my shoulder while I held a cranky Teddy on my lap. The other passengers glared often at me as I attempted to soothe him. He was missing his parents, even as Andromeda and I did, and hadn't taken to being bottle fed well. It had taken him three days to realize his mommy wasn't coming back before he grudgingly accepted muggle formula. I woke Andromeda as we were preparing to land. I couldn't carry her and the baby.

I shuffled through the papers Kingsley had made for us while Andromeda changed him. Birth certificates, passports, and directions to the American Magical Consulate. I binned the last and then joined the line of people seeking entry into the United States. She rejoined me just as I reached the desk, and after a few short minutes, it was done. I heaved a sigh of relief, and looked around for the shuttle that would take us to the hotel.

Upon arrival at the Hilton, I was glad we'd had the foresight to book our rooms in advance as only one of the three couples in line ahead of us had done the same and the hotel turned the others away due to lack of space. Apparently this was one of the hotels that most commonly served airport guests. Within minutes, we were shown to our suite and I placed a sleeping Teddy in the crib the concierge had thoughtfully included in the room once she'd found out we had an infant with us.

After the bellhop finished depositing our bags beside the door, I flopped down on the sofa in the common area. "Merlin, I'm glad that's over with," I sighed reaching for the stack of menus on the coffee table. "Italian, Chinese, Mediterranean or American?" I asked Andromeda, holding up the menus. She snatched them from me and shuffled through them before extracting the one for Mario's Pizza and Pasta and tossing the others back on the table. I leaned back against the arm of the couch and closed my eyes while she ordered. I could eat anything. My childhood had left me with no food prejudices.

It seemed like moments later, but must have actually been closer to half an hour, Andromeda was shaking me awake. My stomach rumbled at the delicious aroma of sauce and cheese that invaded my nostrils as I sat up. The sight of the large plate of Lasagna with French bread she handed me had me salivating. As we ate Andromeda and I discussed our plans for the next day. First we would go out and get a perambulator for Teddy and then we would meet with the leasing agent and view some apartments.

HPHPHP

It took fifteen minutes and three associates at Macy's before we found the perambulators or strollers as they are called by the Yanks. The assistant manager, a jolly young man whose cousin was British apologized for the miscommunication and gave us a twenty percent discount. We left the store with a fancy stroller that was padded for infants and newborns, several cute blankets, and a baby sling which I was sure I was never going to figure out even after the saleswoman had demonstrated how to use it 3 times.

Andromeda had to refresh the glamour on Teddy's hair several times during the tours and almost had to obliviate the leasing agent once when the child's hair turned lime green just as the agent had turned around. Thankfully I was able to distract him before he noticed. We looked at six different locations before settling on a three-bedroom townhouse in Brooklyn. There was still some work to finish it up, but Andromeda turned out to be a mean negotiator and managed to halve the price of a year's lease due to the fact that not only would we have to completely furnish the place, but we would have to spend two extra weeks at the hotel while the plumbing, painting and a few other problems were fixed. Deciding to wait a week or so before purchasing the appliances and furnishings, we spent the rest of the day sight-seeing New York and getting a general layout of the area. We identified the entrance to Magical Manhattan and made note to avoid the place if possible. After the trauma of the wizarding world neither of us planned to return any time soon.

As we strolled, I kept an eye open for Help Wanted signs, knowing I would need a job soon to supplement the modest savings Andromeda and I had scrounged together. I had withdrawn everything from my trust account at Gringotts and placed it into an international bank which had branches all over the world. I had been informed that at one time there had been a Potter account that I was set to inherit on my 17th birthday, however, due to an accounting error, everything in the vault had been distributed to other vaults including several belonging to acquitted Death Eaters.

It was this, combined with the reaction of the Weasleys to the damages sustained to their family, and the knowledge that at least six known death eaters had walked due to imperious claims after the battle that finally cemented our decision the leave the wizarding world behind. The Head of Gringotts, a goblin named Sharptooth had promised to investigate what happened, but stated it would be an indeterminate amount of time before the investigation would be complete and even longer before everything could be recovered. He promised me I would receive a message from them once the vault's contents had been recovered in full. I wasn't holding my breath.

Andromeda had been a healer before the second war broke out, but due to Teddy's birth and Remus and Tonks' death, we knew it was unlikely she would be able to return to work. There weren't many muggle babysitters you could trust with the secret of a metamorphmagus child after all.

I had a stroke of luck as we were exploring the neighborhood near the townhouse. A block and a half away was a small diner called Rose's Place and the sign outside stated they were hiring cooks. A lucky break for me as my experience with the Dursleys had left me with quite a few culinary skills. Deciding to check the place out before making a decision, Andromeda and I thought we might as well have lunch.

The diner was warm and cozy, the walls covered with brown wallpaper decorated with pictures of Manhattan. We were greeted warmly by the hostess Sally and shown to a booth in the back. The walkway beside the booth was wide enough we could park Teddy's stroller. I smiled down at him. He was in a happy mood at the moment cooing and grabbing his toes which we couldn't get him to keep beneath the blankets. Andromeda ordered Iced Tea and I ordered a Coke. I sat there sipping on the beverage and listening idly to the baseball game playing on the television in the corner as I perused the menu.

After a delicious meal I quietly enquired with Sally about the cook position. I explained to her that I didn't have any formal restaurant experience, but I'd been helping my 'mother' with the cooking since I was four. I filled out the application, including on it the cell phone number from the phone I'd picked up in London, and the number for the room at the hotel, explaining that we were moving in down the street in just a couple of weeks and that I would be able to easily commute to and from work. She promised to speak with the Owner and Manager and told me I would be notified one way or the other within the next few days.

Author's Note:

Sorry about the delay in updating folks. I can't believe it has been 2 years since I updated. Wow, life sure gets away from you sometimes.

I am sure you are all wondering what happened to Hermione. We will get into that in a few chapters, but it won't be for a while yet. While Normally I ship Harry/Ginny, I have decided to branch out a bit and experiment with other ships. I haven't decided what they will be yet, but this one is definitely a Harry/OC.


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